Canada’s artificial intelligence minister will meet virtually with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Wednesday afternoon to discuss changes the company has committed to making after last month’s mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.

The timing was confirmed to Global News by a spokesperson for AI Minister Evan Solomon’s office.

Solomon sought the meeting with Altman after OpenAI said last week it would enhance its police referral and repeat offender detection practices, among other new safety measures, after it did not flag the Tumbler Ridge shooter’s ChatGPT activity to police last summer.

The company, which said it disabled Jesse VanRootselaar’s account in June over “violent” activity, said in a statement that it had also discovered a second ChatGPT account linked to her name after the shooting, despite a system that flags repeat policy offenders.

OpenAI ultimately alerted RCMP to the shooter’s ChatGPT activity after the mass shooting, in which eight people died and dozens more were injured. The shooter took her own life.

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OpenAI acknowledged in its statement last week that, “under our enhanced law enforcement referral protocol, we would refer the account banned in June 2025 to law enforcement if it were discovered today.”

2:04
OpenAI representatives summoned to Ottawa over Tumbler Ridge shooting

Solomon said in a statement last week that OpenAI’s commitments, while welcome, did not include “a detailed plan for how these commitments will be implemented in practice” and that more clarity was needed.

“I will be meeting directly with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman next week to seek further clarity and to ensure that the commitments made are translated into concrete action,” he wrote.

Altman has yet to comment publicly on the Tumbler Ridge shooting, the commitments his company has made in response, or his meeting with Solomon.

British Columbia Premier David Eby has said he will also meet with Altman, but a date for that meeting has not yet been announced. Global News has reached out to Eby’s office for comment.

OpenAI’s commitments came after company representatives met with Solomon and three other federal ministers in Ottawa to discuss its safety practices.

The ministers left the meeting “disappointed” that OpenAI did not present “concrete actions” it would take in response, while experts and opposition MPs called on the government to step in with regulations.

Solomon has not ruled out legislation to address police referral practices for AI companies that detect violent behaviour on their platforms. The minister has said he will meet with other companies in the coming weeks to discuss the issue.

Eby has called for a national standard for police referrals, calling OpenAI’s improvements and commitments for change “cold comfort for the people in Tumbler Ridge.”

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Canada’s minister of Artificial Intelligence says Ottawa is seeking answers from OpenAI and other artificial intelligence platforms following the deadly shootings in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.

“The horrifying tragedy in Tumbler Ridge has left families with unthinkable losses and shaken communities across Canada,” Evan Solomon said in a statement on Saturday.

“Like many Canadians, I am deeply disturbed by reports that concerning online activity from the suspect was not reported to law enforcement in a timely matter.”

Recent statements from the company OpenAI confirmed that the shooter was flagged while using the platform ChatGPT last summer.

Solomon said Canadians expect online platforms, including OpenAI, to have “robust safety protocols and escalation practices” to help protect public safety.

Premier David Eby of B.C said reports alleging OpenAI may have had related intelligence prior to the attack are “profoundly disturbing.”

“We have confirmed with police that they are pursuing orders regarding the preservation of any potential evidence related to the shootings in Tumbler Ridge held by digital services companies, including social media platforms and AI companies,” Eby said in a statement Saturday.

OpenAI has previously said it contacted police following the incident and removed an account associated with the suspect for violating its policies.

“The pain that these families have gone through is unimaginable,” Eby added.

The premier is urging anyone with new information to contact authorities.

The province also provided background on its prior interactions with OpenAI.

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According to the statement, a government representative met with company officials on Feb. 11 — a meeting scheduled weeks in advance regarding OpenAI’s potential interest in opening an office in Canada.

The following day, OpenAI requested contact information for the RCMP. That request was forwarded to the director of policing and law enforcement services, who connected the company with police.

“OpenAI did not inform any member of government that they had potential evidence regarding the shootings in Tumbler Ridge,” the statement said.

Laura Huey, a professor of sociology at Western University in London, Ontario, said the company’s actions were not unexpected.

“I can’t say that I was particularly surprised. People are increasingly using AI-based apps for all sorts of things, including psychological counselling, dating advice and, of course, unfortunately, things like how to take one’s own life as well as how to commit violence against others,” Huey told Global News.

Huey said debates about privacy and law enforcement access to digital platforms are long-standing.

“What’s happening is the technology is far outpacing the ability of law enforcement to keep an eye on it, and therefore we rely really heavily on commercial companies to do what is in the best interest of individuals and the public.”

She noted that companies face competing pressures when deciding whether to alert authorities.

“ChatGPT and other apps are run by commercial entities that at the end of the day, their interest is protecting their assets and their business.”

Huey said clearer national rules may be needed to address potential gaps.

This development comes as RCMP say they are investigating online threats that have circulated online, forcing the cancellation of a funeral service for one of the victims of the shooting.

In an emailed statement, police confirmed they are aware of threats toward the family of one of the students ahead of a planned funeral service, and that safety measures have been implemented while they investigate.

“The RCMP is aware of threats that have circulated online and within the community and we can confirm that an investigation is under way,” Staff Sgt. Kris Clark with B.C. RCMP told Global News.

“A safety plan is in place for the individual(s) and community as the investigation continues.”

Police did not provide details about the nature of the threats but said officers have been working with local officials.

Global News has requested comment regarding the status of the funeral service. At the time of publication, it was not clear whether the service would proceed as planned.

RCMP say their investigations into the threats and the shootings remain ongoing.

4:28
Questions over return to learning for Tumbler Ridge students as community grieves

— with files from Global News’ Amy Judd

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The investigation into last week’s shootings in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., that claimed nine lives has moved into a new phase after police cleared the two crime scenes.

While police say the only known suspect in the case, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, killed herself as police closed in Tuesday, questions remain.

By Friday, police had interviewed more than 80 students, educators, and first responders, with more underway. They are also gathering digital evidence, including videos shot at the school, CCTV footage and video from police body-worn cameras.

Here’s what we know about the investigation so far:

THE CRIME SCENES

Police tape came down Saturday at the home Van Rootselaar shared with her siblings and mother, Jennifer Jacobs, who had five children. The home was where police found the bodies of Jacobs and 11-year-old Emmett Jacobs, Van Rootselaar’s half brother.

Police also completed investigations at Tumbler Ridge Secondary school, about 1.6 kilometres away, where Van Rootselaar shot dead five children aged 12 and 13 and a teaching assistant.

RCMP say the final moments of the rampage were captured on video at the school. RCMP Assistant Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said Friday that the video showed a final burst of gunfire, which “was not directed at any persons,” before Van Rootselaar shot herself dead. The video has not been made public.

THE GUNS

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RCMP say an unregistered shotgun was used to kill Jennifer and Emmett Jacobs. Police had previously seized guns from the home under the Criminal Code and returned them after a request from their owner. But McDonald said the shotgun had never been seized. A second weapon found at the home is also under investigation, and other weapons have been seized.

A photo posted on social media last year by Jennifer Jacobs, who held a gun licence, showed at least six long guns, including what looks like a shotgun. Shotguns and other unrestricted weapons do not need to be registered if the owner has a valid Possession and Acquisition Licence.

Police say Van Rootselaar took two weapons to the school, a long gun and a modified rifle, which was previously reported to be a modified handgun. The main firearm used in the killings at the school had never been seized by police. McDonald declined to describe it Friday, because of its “unknown origin.” He said investigators are looking into whether other parties were involved “in terms of procuring that weapon.”

McDonald said Van Rootselaar had a gun licence that expired in 2024 and had no weapons registered to her.

MENTAL HEALTH

McDonald said last week that police had attended Jacobs’s home on “multiple occasions” over the past several years due to concerns about Van Rootselaar’s mental health. She was apprehended at least twice under B.C.’s Mental Health Act and taken to hospital “in some circumstances.”

He said he didn’t know if Van Rootselaar was receiving care at the time of the attacks.

THE MOTIVE AND THE VICTIMS

Police have said that they don’t believe Van Rootselaar was targeting specific victims. McDonald has said she was “hunting.”

Van Rootselaar was “prepared and engaging anybody and everybody they could come in contact with,” McDonald said Friday.

Van Rootselaar was not related to any of the victims at the school, although her mother was a friend of the mother of 12-year-old Maya Gebala, who is gravely wounded in hospital.

Police said last week they had no information about whether Van Rootselaar had been bullied at school and officers didn’t find a note. Van Rootselaar dropped out of school four years ago. She was transgender and had started transitioning about six years ago, McDonald said.

Autopsies on the victims were expected to have been finished have finished by Sunday, including for the shooter.

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Students in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., will not be returning to their current high school following last week’s deadly mass shooting, the local school district said in a release.

In a letter to families dated Feb. 13, School District No. 59 (Peace River South) said future plans will prioritize student safety and well-being, adding the existing school site will not reopen.

“As we create our plans, the expectation is that we will not be returning to the current high school site,” superintendent Christy Fennell wrote.

Larry Neufeld, BC Conservative MLA for Peace River South, said the prospect of students returning to the building has been a major concern within the community.

“How can you imagine a paint job and a mural and then asking children to go back into that place? I can’t imagine,” Neufeld said in an interview with Global News.

“As an adult, I would not want to go into that location. Children should not be forced into that situation.”

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Neufeld said provincial leaders have assured him students will not be required to return to the existing school.

“There will be portables brought in, there will be other accommodations made, but students won’t be forced back into that building.”

The district said supports for students and families remain available at the community recreation centre, which is open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

“We know some families will want the stability of school routines, while others may not feel ready,” Fennell wrote.

“We will share plans over the next week that prioritizes emotional and physical safety through a trauma informed lens,” the statement further read.

The decision follows the Feb. 10 shooting in Tumbler Ridge, where a teen killed eight people. Police have identified the suspect as Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, who also died.

In the days since the tragedy in the small northeastern British Columbia community, recent memorials and vigils have taken place to honour the victims.

Nuefeld told Global News that the recent memorials and gatherings have provided an important space for grief and connection. “People went from being zombies to… allowing their emotions to be released.”

Friday night’s vigil brought many mourners together, including Prime Minister Mark Carney and opposition leader Pierre Polliviere.

“I’ve been in politics for about 16 months, and there is often a performative component to it, but what you saw yesterday was real,” Neufeld said.

BC RCMP say investigators and forensic teams continue to process the school and a nearby residence connected to the shooting.

Autopsies are expected to be completed by the end of the weekend.

More than 80 students, educators and first responders have been interviewed so far, with additional witness interviews ongoing, as the investigation progresses.

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The Tumbler Ridge RCMP detachment has only five members.

“At the time of the incident, there was two members that were working and two members that were off duty, not working that day, and one was out of the community,” Jeff Swann, the national policing federation Pacific region director for the RCMP, told Global News.

On Tuesday afternoon, a call came in reporting an active shooter at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.

“What they did was heroic,” Swann said.

“The two members that got the call went way above and beyond duty and they protected and saved Canadian lives and children, without a doubt. They were at the school within 120 seconds of the call.

“They immediately responded, running into the school while there was gunfire happening.”

Swann said the officers “ran into gunfire” and did not hesitate.

“Immediately upon entering the school, they were shot at and they didn’t stop,” he said.

“They did everything they needed to do, that police presence, that intervention. They saved lives and the nearest backup immediately responded, except they’re, you know, a long drive away.”

Swann said RCMP officers from Fort St. John, Chetwynd and Dawson Creek responded to calls for help and the two off-duty Tumbler Ridge members were called in.

“What met them was just absolutely horrific,” he said.

0:16
Tumbler Ridge school shooting suspect was ‘hunting,’ RCMP says

Eight people were shot and killed when a person opened fire at a home and at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Tuesday.

The victims have been identified as five students, an education assistant, the shooter’s mother, stepbrother and the shooter herself.

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The students included 12-year-old Kylie May Smith, 12-year-old Ticaria Lampert, 12-year-old Zoey Benoit, 39-year-old education assistant Shannda Aviugana-Durand, 12-year-old Abel Mwansa, 12-year-old Ezekiel Schofield, 39-year-old Jennifer Strang (Jacobs) and 11-year-old Emmett Jacobs.

Swann said that one of the responding officers was at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School earlier that day, before the shooting happened.

“I can just tell you that these officers were fired upon and they didn’t stop,” he said.

“They continued to, every possible thing that they could do to protect those students and that school was done. They saved lives, they were heroes and I know speaking to them they don’t want that term.

“They are devastated. They are community members. They knew everybody in that school. They attended that school almost daily.”

1:32
Tumbler Ridge school victims identified

More than a dozen paramedics were also called to Tumbler Ridge on Tuesday.

“I believe there is one full-time unit up there,” Ian Tait, communications and social media director for the Ambulance Paramedics of BC, said.

“I just don’t know what else was staffed that day. I know at least three air resources were brought up, as well with multiple members on them. And then other ambulances came in as well to help with the workload because obviously, understandably, it was a challenging, horrible day.”

Tait said everyone is being offered support and any resources they need at this time.

“This is not something that usually just goes away after a shift or two, or that you can just kind of pick up the pieces,” he said.

“This is one of those horrible, tragic events that paramedics and other first responders have to deal with when it happens. And the implications of it can be a lifetime in the making.”

The BC RCMP has launched an online portal to streamline the collection of additional evidence.

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The mother of a 12-year-old girl killed in the school shooting in Tumbler Ridge says her family is struggling to comprehend the loss as the small northern B.C. community mourns the victims.

Sarah Lampert spoke to reporters Thursday about her daughter, Ticaria, who was among eight people killed in the attack that also left the shooter dead and dozens injured.

“We now have to figure out how to live life without her, and there’s nothing and no one that can fill that gap,” Lampert said. “Our family is shattered, and it is going to take immense amounts of time to get through this.”

Lampert, a single mother of eight children, described her household as deeply interconnected. “I’m a single mom and every single one of us matter in my family. Our truth is that we have learned to become a functioning cell together. Every one of us mattered. Her absence in our family is not going to go unnoticed,” she said, fighting back tears.

2:30
Questions about how shooter had access to guns

Lampert described her daughter as a larger-than-life presence in their home. “She was a blazing light in the darkness. If you didn’t see her, you definitely heard her,” she said, adding that her daughter “just wanted to bring sunshine to everyone and everything she ever touched.”

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“She loved her family fiercely … her friends were her everything,” her mother said.

Lampert said everyday routines now serve as painful reminders of her daughter’s absence.

“Simple things like going and getting in the van and turning around and not having a full head count is going to be hard. Everything is hard right now.”

Ticaria, known to family and friends as Tiki, is being remembered as a vibrant and loving child.

“Ticaria (Tiki) was such a loving, courageous, humorous, one-of-a-kind kiddo and her life was cut short at only 12 years of age,” reads a GoFundMe page set up by a Tumbler Ridge resident to support the family with funeral expenses.

The page says Lampert “could use some help with funeral costs to lay her baby girl to rest the way Tiki deserves,” adding that Ticaria “left behind seven other siblings and a mother who loved her so much.”

Lampert thanked the community and addressed her loved ones. “To my family and my friends and everybody else, just know that I am going to get there. We are going to get there,” she said.

“This has been the hardest pill to swallow. I still am in disbelief. To accept that my daughter is gone is impossible. I don’t know what else to say. Thank you everyone.”

A community vigil is scheduled for Friday. Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to attend as residents gather to honour the victims.

–with files from Amy Judd and Uday Rana

2:02
How traumatized will teens be by the Tumbler Ridge tragedy?

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Mass shootings in Canada — including an April 2020 rampage in Nova Scotia — have spurred changes to gun laws in recent decades.

Few details were available Wednesday on the type of firearm used in Tuesday’s mass shootings in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., which left nine people dead, including the suspect, and many others injured.

RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said two firearms — a long gun and a modified handgun — were recovered by responding officers.

“Determining the origin of these firearms and what role they played in the shootings remains a significant part of the active and ongoing investigation,” McDonald told reporters in Surrey, B.C.

2:14
Tumbler Ridge shooting: 5 teens, teacher dead as RCMP identify shooter

Since May 2020, the federal Liberals have outlawed about 2,500 types of firearms, including the AR-15 and Ruger Mini-14, on the basis they belong only on the battlefield.

Prohibited firearms and devices must be disposed of — or deactivated — by the end of an amnesty period on Oct. 30.

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Firearms rights advocates and the federal Conservatives have accused the government of targeting law-abiding gun owners and have denounced the program as a poor use of taxpayer dollars.

2:04
Liberal gun buyback plan criticized after pilot program collects 25 firearms

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Gun-control advocates have applauded the compensation program while criticizing the government for not banning new sales of the semi-automatic SKS rifle.

The SKS is commonly used in Indigenous communities to hunt for food. It also has been used in police killings and other high-profile shootings in recent years.

The government is carrying out a broad review of Canada’s firearms classification regime that will include consultations with Indigenous communities on the SKS.

The Liberals also have taken steps to restrict handguns, increase penalties for firearms trafficking, keep firearms out of the hands of domestic abusers and curb homemade ghost guns.

In 1989, a gunman armed with a Ruger Mini-14 and a hunting knife murdered 14 women at Montreal’s École Polytechnique.

In the early 1990s, federal legislation toughened penalties for gun-related crimes and ushered in new measures on acquiring and storing firearms.

The Liberal government of Jean Chrétien created a universal registry for firearms, including ordinary rifles and shotguns, in the mid-1990s.

2:24
Gun control: Canada adding 179 types of firearms to prohibited weapon list

The registry was lambasted by critics as a needless intrusion into the lives of farmers, hunters and sport shooters, and touted by others as a worthy tool for police who used it to glean crucial information.

Stephen Harper’s Conservatives introduced legislation to scrap universal registration, ending the requirement to register non-restricted firearms.

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B.C.’s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General says people across the province are standing with the small community of Tumbler Ridge.

“The people of Tumbler Ridge remain in a state of crisis following one of the worst mass shootings in our province’s and country’s history,” Nina Krieger said.

“This is a devastating day for close knit community, and the loss being felt is profound. There are truly no words.”

On Tuesday, nine people were killed in the community in northeastern B.C. in a mass shooting. The suspected shooter was found dead, two people were seriously injured and 25 others were injured.

The community of 2,000 people was placed under lockdown around 1:20 p.m. after news came in of an active shooter at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, RCMP said.

When officers entered the school on Tuesday afternoon, they found six victims dead, RCMP confirmed. Two more victims were found at another location, while another victim died on the way to hospital.

An individual believed to be the shooter was also found dead with what appeared to be a self‑inflicted injury.

“I would like to thank the RCMP officers who were on the scene within two minutes of receiving the call,” Krieger said.

“That speed and professionalism saved lives today. I would also like to thank paramedics, firefighters, health care workers, victim services staff and all first responders who acted immediately to support this community in an unimaginable, unimaginably horrific moment.”

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She added that shock waves will be felt in the community for years to come.

1:47
B.C. school shooting: At least 9 killed, 25 injured in Tumbler Ridge

Students were locked down at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and Elementary School, which will remain closed for the rest of the week, the district confirmed.

As a mother, I’m holding the families who lost loved ones close in my heart, as well as the many of those injured,” Krieger added.

“For their families, the nightmare has not yet ended. We will stand with the community in the days and weeks and months ahead, with compassion, with action, and with a commitment to supporting healing for as long as it takes. We will ensure that every possible support is available for the community in the coming days.”

B.C. Premier David Eby also said on Tuesday night that this is a devastating and unimaginable tragedy.

“We can’t imagine what the community is going through, but I know it’s causing us all to hug our kids a little bit tighter tonight,” he said.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to ask British Columbians, to ask all Canadians to wrap the people of Tumbler Ridge, wrap these families with love, not just tonight, but tomorrow and into the future. This is something that will reverberate for years to come. As British Columbians, I know that one of the things we do best is look after each other. And I’m asking British Columbians to look after the people of Tumbler Ridge tonight.”

5:18
RCMP speaks on Tumbler Ridge B.C. shooting

Tuesday’s shooting was the deadliest attack connected to a Canadian school in nearly 40 years.

More than two dozen people were shot during the Ecole Polytechnique massacre in Montreal on Dec. 6, 1989, killing 14 women before the gunman took his own life.

Another shooting in Montreal in 2006 left one person dead at Dawson College and 20 others injured after a man opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon. The shooter was killed in a police gunfight.

The last time such deadly violence was carried out against multiple people in the halls of a Canadian school was a decade ago in northern Saskatchewan.

On Jan. 22, 2016, four people were killed and seven others injured in a shooting spree in the remote Dene community of La Loche. A student, who was 17 at the time, pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and attempted murder.

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A shooting in northern B.C.’s Peace region is the deadliest attack connected to a Canadian school in nearly 40 years.

Nine people were killed in the mass shooting that also left the suspected shooter dead in Tumbler Ridge on Tuesday afternoon.

Seven victims were shot at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, while about two dozen other people were hurt at the grade 7 to 12 school. One of the victims died while being taken to hospital. The suspected shooter was also found there.

RCMP said two other people were found dead at a home in the community of about 2,400 people.

Here is a look at some other school shootings in Canada:

La Loche high school, Sask: On Jan. 22, 2016, Randan Dakota Fontaine shot two of his cousins dead, then killed a teacher and a teacher’s aide at the La Loche high school.

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Les Racines de vie Montessori, Gatineau, Que.: On April 5, 2013, two men were killed during a shooting at the school’s daycare. The shooter was identified as Robert Charron. Thirty-eight-year-old Neil Galliou was killed before Charron took his own life. Charron told staff to take the 53 children to safety before he opened fire.

W.C. Jeffreys Collegiate Institute, Toronto: On May, 23, 2007, 15-year-old Jordan Manners was found in a hallway with single gunshot wound to the chest. He later died in hospital. Two teens were charged with first-degree-murder and were later acquitted.

Dawson College, Laval, Que: On Sept. 13, 2006, 18-year-old Anastasia De Sousa was killed and 20 others were hurt when gunman Kimveer Gill, 25, opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon. Gill was killed in a police gunfight.

W.R. Myers High: Taber, Alta.: On April 28, 1999, a 14-year-old Grade 9 students shots three students, killing 17-year-old Jason Lang before he was arrested.

Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal: On Dec. 6, 1989, 25-year-old Marc Lepine shot more than two dozen people, killing 14 women before killing himself.

1:52
Moncton students, faculty hold vigil in memory of Ecole Polytechnique victims

— With files from Karen Bartko, Global News

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